vs UNLAWFUL SEXUAL CONTACT FIRST

DEGREE BURGLARY FIRST DEGREE

ASSAULT FIRST DE REE HOME JIMMY DAVIS INVASIO§J

Defendant 2024 VI SUPER 16U

MEMORANDUM OPINION

1| 1 THIS MATTER is before the Court following the Opinion and Judgment of the

Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, entered December 19, 2023, reversing and remanding this

Court’s November 29, 2022, Opinion and Order (“Bail Order ’) adjudicating Defendant’s March21, 2022 Motion for Modification of Bail (‘ 2022 Bail Motion ) Also before the Court is

Defendant 3 Motion to Modify Pretrial Release Conditions filed January 25, 2024 (‘ 2024 BailMotion ’)

1|

2 On December 13, 2022, Davis filed his interlocutory appeal with the Supreme

Court seeking relief from the Bail Order The Supreme Court 3 December 19, 2023 Opinion heldthat this Court erred when it relied on the allegations made by Davis’s former court appointedattorneys in their motions to withdraw as counsel” in ruling on Davis’s 2022 Bail Motion Damsv People, 2023 VI 16, 11 33 (V l 2023) Because this Court “considered these materials sua spontewithout providing Davis with

a right to be heard, the matter was remanded to “provide Davis with

an opportunity to be heard with respect to the matters raised by the Superior Court sua sponte ’ Id

1]

3 On remand

a hearing was held March 20 2024 wherein the Court heard testimony

from Defendant Jimmy Davis, who attended the hearing via Zoom from the Farrelly Criminal

Justice Center in St Thomas, and from Defendant’s sister, proposed third party custodian,Jacqueline Davis Wathey, and considered arguments of attorneys for Davis and the People For

the reasons set forth below, Defendant’s 2022 Bail Motion and 2024 Bail Motion will be denied,and Davis’s monetary bail will remain set at $250,000, fully secured, and other conditions of

pretrial release will similarly be maintained
to be serving

a federal sentence and was mistakenly released before committing the instant

offense 3 At the April 8, 2020 initial hearing, the magistrate judge ordered that Davis 8 bail would“remain at $1,000,000 ' 4

1|

5 Davis first moved for reconsideration of bail on August 11, 2020 arguing that

$1,000,000 was grossly excessive and designed only to punish noting his indigeney

First Motion

for Modification of Bail (“First Motion ’) at 3 Davis noted that he has lived on St Croix all his

life, has numerous family members here including his parents, and “upon learning a warrant was

issued for his arrest in this matter tumed himself in

" thus arguing that he did not constitute a

flight risk

M Davis indicated that his mother would be willing to serve as his third party custodian

and assure his appearance before the Court [(1 Lastly Davis noted, without reference to anyparticular cases, his history of appearances before various courts in other matters Id

116 In opposition, on August 17, 2020, the People proffered that because Davis 3

National Crime Information Center (“NClC ) and Virgin Islands Police Department (“VIPD )records indicated that he had been arrested “approximately 38 times and convicted for

8

offenses many of which occurred while he was on bond or supervised release for otheroffenses Davis posed

a risk of physical harm to the community Opposition to First Motion for

Modification of Bail (“First Opposition’), at

2 The People also argued that Davis had been

involved in multiple high speed chases with VIPD, and ‘ has shown

a disregard for the orders of

this and other courts, ’ and as such presented

a flight risk 5 1d at

2

4

‘ Probable Cause Fact Sheet, filed April 8, 2020, at 38; see also Amended Order Modifying the Setting of

Bail in the Absence of a Judge (SX 2020 MC 00024) ( Bail Chart ) signed March 23 2020 by thenPresiding Judge Harold

W

L Willocks, which sets bail for first degree rape at $100,000

2 Memorandum Record of Proceeding (Apr 8, 2020)

l [(1 Davis has indicated that he was in federal custody from February 26, 2018 until March 27, 2020 SeeDefendant’s Emergency Renewed Motion for Modification of Bail, at 3 (Dec 1, 2020)

A warrant was

issued for Davis by the

U

S District Court magistrate judge on March 31, 2020, for failure to report to

probation within 72 hours of being released See Probable Cause Fact Sheet, at 614 1d The WebEx recording of this hearing, conducted without a court reporter, is unavailable and no

transcript exists As such, it is unknown what findings, if any, were made by the magistrate judge regardingthe bail amount Funher, it remains unclear from the available record whether the magistrate judge in fact

increased Davis’s bail from $100,000 to $1,000,000 at that hearing or, if not, when the bail was increased

5 The First Opposition included an April 4, 2020 supplemental VIPD report in this matter and February

6

and February 27, 2018 supplemental reports related to VIPD s attempt to arrest Davis for a December 12,

2017 assault (Complaint No 17

A 1195]) Those 2018 supplements reported that Davis made ‘ several

telephone calls" to the Superior Court Clerk’s office, “became irate and began cursing " Further, Davis is
Corrections Sentence Data Record (“Timesheet ’) reflecting the status of his incarceration for

Territorial matters 7

1]

9 On June 14, 2021, the Court held

a hearing on Davis’s Renewed Motion for

Modification of Bail (‘ Renewed Motion ’) filed March 22, 2021, where the Court issued findings

and orally denied the Renewed Motion On June 22, 2021, Davis filed an interlocutory appeal to

the Supreme Court On April 1, 2022 the Supreme Court issued its Opinion holding that this Court

“erred when it denied [Davis’s] motion for modification of bail for the reasons given at the June

14 2021 hearing Dams i People 2022 V1

8 118 (V I 2022) Because this Court had applied

the incorrect legal standard when it denied Davis’s motion without explaining how its findings

justified setting bail at $1,000 000 the matter was remanded to permit the Court to clearly

articulate how its findings support setting bail ’ in

a particular amount Id at 111|12

n 2, 13

reported to have called the Superior Court inquiring about

a family court case involving him When the

clerk advised him that the requested information could not be disclosed by phone, ‘ Mr Davis began cursing

and he made threats saying the Superior Court will find the clerk in

a body bag

Davis was arrested for the December 2017 assault on February 26, 2018, as he sought to evade police

The supplemental report stated that police pursued Davis until one marked VIPD unit cut him off, at whichpoint “Davis then placed the truck he was operating in reverse and collided into a second marked police

vehicle

Another high speed chase referenced in the First Opposition occurred January 31, 2010 as recounted in

the

U

S District Court‘s description, ofwhich the Court takes judicial notice ‘ On January 31, 2010, police

were informed that an individual with a gun was seen in the Aurea Diaz Housing Community driving

a blue

Suzuki Aerio Police responded and observed

a vehicle matching this description a shon distance from the

housing community

A high speed chase ensued the suspect eventually drove through a fence on

someone 3 property and drew

a gun on the pursuing officer The suspect escaped, but abandoned the

vehicle Inside the vehicle, police found a cell phone that allegedly contained Defendant [Davis]’s picture

A police officer identified the person in the picture on the phone as the person he was pursuing Based on

these circumstances, the Superior Court issued a search warrant for No 816 William's Delight and an arrestwarrant for Defendant On February 13, 2010, members of the VIPD executed the search warrant at 816William’s Delight During the execution of this search warrant,

a member of the VIPD witnessed what

appeared to be a hand grenade being tossed from the living room window of the house The search of the

residence also revealed a handgun Defendant Jimmy Davis and his mother were the only occupants of the

home at the time of the search Defendant was arrested and placed in the custody of the VIPD ’ L mm!

Stares v Dams 2010U

S Dist LEXIS 59354 at *2 3 (DV[ June 15 2010)

" Memorandum Record of Proceeding (Nov 16, 2020)

" The Emergency Motion indicated that the Timesheet “does not fully reflect the assessment of Mr Davis 3

incarceration for federal matters Emergency Motion at 3
11 l I At that hearing, through counsel, Davis emphasized that he was requesting either

release on his own recognizance or cash bail set in an amount that he could afford to post as anindigent defendant The Court heard testimony fi'om Davis 8 sister, proposed third party custodian,

Jacqueline Davis Wathey The People presented testimony from Commander Naomi Joseph of the

Virgin Islands Police Department, who testified to Davis 8 various interactions with law

enforcement since the 1990 8

1 12 On November 29 2022 the Court issued its Bail Order granting the Renewed

Motion, reducing the bail to $250 000, but rejecting Davis’s request for release on his own

recognizance or

a lower cash bail In addition to the parties’ filings and evidence introduced at the

October 26, 2022 hearing, in the Bail Order the Court considered the reasons Davis 5 former court

appointed attorneys had given for seeking leave to withdraw from his representation which

included characterizations of Davis as ‘ threatening ’ “combative, ’ and “violent ’ as substantive

support for its decision setting the cash bail amount

1] 13 Davis 3 December 13, 2022 appeal from the Bail Order argued, among other things,

that the Superior Court erred by considering as substantive evidence the content of his formercourt appointed attorneys motions to withdraw The Supreme Court’s December 19, 2023Opinion concurred, and reversed and remanded the Bail Order to this Court The Supreme Courtnoted that evidence of violent behavior directed towards officers of the court and others is relevantto

a bail modification inquiry However, because evidence of such conduct had not been put forth

by the People, and it is “a bedrock principal of ourjudicial system that courts should issue decisions

based on arguments made and evidence presented by the parties, ’ and not based on ‘ arguments

their adversaries never made

” this Court had erred in considering the contents of the previous

attomeys’ motions to withdraw Davis

v People 2023 VI 16, 1] 26 (V I 2023) (citation omitted)

The Supreme Court reasoned that by sua sponte considering the motions to withdraw as

substantive evidence without first advising the parties of its intention to do so, the Court essentially

deprived Davis of his right to be heard

” Id , 1| 30

1| [4 Davis filed his 2024 Bail Motion on January 25, 2024, wherein he requests that the

Court permit his release into the third party custody of his sister, Jacqueline Davis Wathey, uponthe signing of an unsecured bond in the amount of $250 0003 Order (Apr 22, 2022) (setting hearing for May 24, 2022, on the Renewed Motion following the Supreme

Court’s remand) That hearing was delayed, ultimately until October 26, 2022, as between April 2022 andOctober 2022, eight different attorneys moved to be relieved as Defendant’s counsel
full time in Christiansted Town and that, if Davis were to be released, she would not be at homeMonday to Friday from

8 00

a

m

5 00

p

m

1| 16 At the hearing, the People voiced acceptance of the modified pretrial conditions,

but only with

a 24 hour GPS monitor Afier the hearing the same day, however the People

resubmitted previously filed responses dated August 17 2020 and June 1 l 202l opposing

Defendant’s proposed modified release conditions, arguing that Davis poses

a risk of physical

harm to the community and is

a flight risk 9

LEGAL STANDARD

1| 17 The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution addresses pretrial release

by providing that ‘ excessive bail shall not be required ’ The Eighth Amendment is applicable tothe United States Virgin Islands through the Revised Organic Act Karpouzw

v Gov t Qfthe VI

36

V l 132 139

n 14 (D

V I 1997) ( The Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the

14th Amendment are made applicable to the Virgin Islands under section

3 ofthe Revised Organic

Act of 1954 ) Todmann \ People 57

V l 540 545

n

3 (VI 2012)( Congress has extended the

Eighth Amendment, as well as the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, to the Virgin

Islands through section

3 of the Revised Organic Act of 1954) Murrell

v People 54

V I 338 351

n

6 (V I 20l0) Tobal

v People 51

V l 147 15] (V I 2009) Browne

v People 50

V I 241 256

(V I 2008)

fi 18 Section

3 0f the Revised Organic Act of I954, the defacto constitution of the Virgin

Islands guarantees that [3]“ persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties in the case of criminal

offenses, except for first degree murder or any capital offense when the proof is evident or the

presumption great 48 l S

C § IS6l see also 5 V I C

§ 3504a Bail is further governed by

V I

R Crim

P

5 l which states that, ‘ [t]he court shall impose the least restrictive non exhaustive

range of conditions of release that will reasonably protect the community from risk of physical

harm to persons, assure the presence of the accused at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicialprocess[ ] V l Crim

R

5 I(b)

1] I9 The primary purpose of bail is to safeguard the court’s role in adjudicating the

innocence or guilt of defendants United States \ Salerno, 481

U

S 739, 753 (1987) Bail that is

9 Also on March 20, 2024, Davis filed a Motion to Deem Motion to Modify Pre trial Release Conceded

Due to People’s Failure to Respond Therein Davis argues that in failing to file their opposition by February

14, 2024 (the deadline indicated in the Court 5 scheduling Order), the People have waived their right to

object to the 2024 Bail Motion All the content of those filings was already a part of the record, and nothinguntimely filed is considered by the Court As such, Davis 3 Motion to Deem Conceded is denied
resolving the question of the adequacy of bail, however, judges may not use such considerations

to deny bail entirely Tobal

v People 51 VI at 156 57

1] 21 “Whether bail is set at

a level to adequately ensure the defendant 5 presence at court

depends on whether the defendant is

a flight risk People

v Rzonda 21 V1 SUPER 31 1| 1 l (V 1

Super Ct 2021) (citing Tubal 51 V1 at 156 57) Factors that may be considered when evaluating

whether

a defendant is

a flight risk include

Potential length of the defendant’s sentence if convicted, prior use of false identities or

deceptive means by which the defendant may evade government detection if attempting toflee, the risk of retaliation from others which incentivizes the defendant to flee, thedefendant 3 citizenship status, the defendant 8 employment status, the defendant’s historyof travel, the defendant 8 ties to the jurisdiction, and whether the defendant hasconsiderable contacts or ties to family members outside ofjurisdiction

Id (internal citations omitted)

1122 The adequacy of bail conditions is also affected by whether the defendant is

a

danger to the community [d at 1] 13 Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, “thenature of the charges, the defendant’s criminal history, the defendant’s history of violence,

a prior

court order to attend anger management and the defendant’s history ofmental illness ’ 1d (internalcitations omitted) But cf. People i Simmonds 48 VI 320 329 (VI Super Ct 2009) (thedefendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, thus pending charges cannot necessarily

determine danger to the community)

1123 These considerations appertain with equal force to

a motion to reduce bail or

modify pretrial release conditions as to the initial bail determination at the outset of proceedingsDavis

v People, 2022 VI 8, 1] 1] 1n resolving

a motion to modify bail and pretrial release

conditions, the court must make an individualized determination to ensure that bail is not excessive

and must tailor the bail, or conditions of release, to achieve that purpose Rzeara

v People, 57

V 1

at 667 Furthermore, an order establishing or modifying release conditions cannot be ‘ based on ‘amere recitation of relevant criteria," but rather ‘ should clearly explain why those criteria supportthe ultimate bail amount or other release conditions

” Id at 666 ‘ [W]here

a defendant’s new

motion includes additional evidence or new and different proffers the court should [] provide

reasons for retaining the bail conditions as initially set” or, by implication, for the modified

conditions Id at 667 Nonetheless, the court uses its discretion in reaching

a well reasoned,

individualized determination People

v Rzonda, 2021 V1 SUPER 31, 1|

6 See People

v Saldana

No ST 14 CR F187 2015 WL 301491 at *4 (V 1 Super Ct Jan 16 2015) (unpublished)
judicial process, are considered excessive and thus, unconstitutional See Stack 342

U

S at 3,

Cartms

v People 6|

V I 257 260 (V I 2014) (quoting Rzeara 57

V I at 667 (citing section

3 of

the Revised Organic Act))

DISCUSSION

I Risk of Flight

1| 25 When making

a bail determination,

a court must ensure that bail is “set at

a level to

adequately ensure the defendant’s presence at court Rzonda, 2021 VI SUPER 3], 1| 1 l Factorsthe Court may consider that are relevant to this matter include potential length of sentence ifconvicted, prior use of false identities, risk of retaliation from others which incentivizes flight,

Defendant’s citizenship status, employment status, history of travel, ties to the jurisdiction, and

whether Defendant has considerable contacts outside the jurisdiction Id

1] 26 Here, the potential sentence for

a first degree rape conviction is significant, ranging

from IO to 30 years This factor increases the risk that Defendant may not appear, thus weighing

in favor of

a higher bail amount There is evidence in the record to indicate that Davis has used

aliases in the past In fact, Davis is reported to have used the alias Michael Rivera during

a

telephone inquiry to the Superior Court Clerk’s office (Complaint No 17

A 1 1951) Thus, the record

indicates that in an official communication with the Court, Davis used an alias to evadeidentification while seeking infomation on the status of

a pending case in which he was involved

This factor weighs in favor of

a higher bail amount

1| 27 In his own filing, Davis has referred to his ‘ lengthy and contentious history ’ with

VIPD October 24, 2022 Addendum, at

8 He claims that his reactions to contacts with police

officers may have been motivated not by “an unwillingness to appear” in court, but rather because

he may have feared VIPD retaliation against him At the October 26, 2022 hearing, Davis’s counsel

reiterated his position that Davis has had

a bad relationship with police Thus, by Davis’s own

admission, he has

a “history of fleeing fi‘om the VIPD on two or three occasions

” and ‘has

been

a thorn in the side of many in the criminal justice system ’ Id Davis 8 admitted fear of

potential VIPD retaliation against him may provide motivation to again seek to evade authorities,and this factor also weights in favor of

a higher bail amount

1| 28 As

a St Croix native and lifetime resident, Davis is

a United States and Virgin

Islands citizen with family members, including his mother, who reside in St Croix This factor

weighs in favor of

a lower bail amount because it decreases the likelihood that Davis would leave

the jurisdiction
1] 30 The record supports Davis’s contention that he has strong ties to the jurisdiction

However, Davis admits that he has attempted to flee law enforcement multiple times The District

Court noted that those attempts have gone so far as to brandish

a weapon at

a police officer and

ramming his car into

a marked police vehicle during

a pursuit Dam 2010

U

S Dist LEXIS 59354

at *2

3

1] 31 Davis argues that ‘ for all his arrests and convictions there is no record before this

Court that Davis has any ‘failures to appear for court or that he violated any condition of release

prompting revocation and return to custody Addendum, at

2 In addition to conceding that he has

sought to flee from law enforcement officers, Davis also admits that he has ‘ made unseemly and

unacted upon threats to others involved in the criminal justice system

” Id at

8 Therefore in

view of these facts, Davis’s contention that ‘ there is no record before this Court that Davis has any

failures to appear for court, ’ rings especially hollow

1] 32 The record fithher reflects that Davis was released from federal custody on March

27, 2020, and that by March 31, 2020, Davis had an active federal warrant against him for failure

to report to probation Just three days later, on April 3, 2020, the alleged rape at issue in this casetook place Not only does this series of events demonstrate that Davis appears to have been in

defiance of

a federal court order when he allegedly committed the instant offense, but it further

decreases the Court’s confidence that he will appear when required in future proceedings in this

matter

1] Danger to the Community

1] 33 Davis is correct that the prosecution’s decision to charge the defendant with

a

serious crime standing alone Without more should have no bearing on the amount ofbail or theconditions of pretrial release

” Moran

v People, 2022 V19, 1] 17 (V I 2022) (emphasis in original)

Indeed, it is well established both in caselaw and as

a foundational principle of criminal law that

a defendant is innocent until proven guilty and, as such, the charges

a defendant is facing cannot

be the sole basis for

a court 3 decision regarding pretrial release While Davis is correct to state

that one of the objectives of bail is ‘ to ensure

a defendant appears at trial, ’ he ignores another

purpose of bail described in Virgin Islands Rules of Criminal Procedure

5 1(b) to “reasonably

protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons

” See Addendum, at

2

1] 34 While the nature of the charges against

a defendant may not be the sole factor

a

court examines in setting bail, the charges may hold some place in the analysis See Rzonda, 2021VI SUPER 31, 1] 13 Here, because the record is replete with other information to consider, the

April 15, 2024
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

District of St. Croix

People of the Virgin Islands v. 

Jimmy Davis 

Case Number: SX-2020-CR-00098

Charges: 14 V.I.C. 1701 - Rape 1st Degree

14 V.I.C. 1701 - Rape 1st Degree

14 V.I.C. 1708 - Unlawful Sexual Contact 

1st Degree

14 V.I.C. 442 - Burglary First Degree 

NOTICE of ENTRY

of

Memorandum Opinion

To

: 

Amie M. Simpson, Esq. Howard Lee Phillips, Esq.

Please take notice that on April 15, 2024

a(n) Memorandum Opinion

dated April 15, 2024 was/were entered

by the Clerk in the above-titled matter.

Dated

: 

April 15, 2024 Tamara Charles

Clerk of the Court

By:

Brianna Primus

Court Clerk II